Valutazione multicriteriale dello spazio pubblico: un metodo per le pubbliche amministrazioni

La gestione, manutenzione e riqualificazione degli spazi pubblici richiede strumenti di valutazione multicriteriali, sensibili a condizioni socio-ambientali spesso trascurate nel processo decisionale di una Pubblica Amministrazione. La ricerca ha elaborato un sistema di valutazione transcalare composto di otto indicatori. Gli indicatori concorrono, attraverso la visualizzazione su base GIS e la computazione tabellare a definire un percorso progressivo di valutazione che partendo dalla scala della città giunge all'analisi di uno spazio verde e della sua dotazione di arredi. Il metodo sperimentale tiene conto del ciclo di vita delle dotazioni degli spazi pubblici, dei vincoli normativi, delle opportunità morfologiche del territorio, del fabbisogno sociale di spazi

CONCERTO AL PIANO: A SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

Urban pilot project is transforming micro-communities in the heart of Italy’s Piedmont region. Concerto AL Piano is a European project aimed to demon- strate the economic and social benefits in investing in energy saving and re- newable energy in the process of urban regeneration. Thanks to the co-operation of the many players in this effort, as well as the support from the region, a previous project of a Photovoltaic Village was a success, and Alessandria became the largest PV village in Italy. Alessandria further promoted energy saving concepts, including encouraging sustainable construction under the banner of Concerto AL Piano. The project includes a mix of interventions: the recovery of existing social hous- ing, the construction of new eco-buildings and the provision of a district heat- ing system in cogeneration. The project has been governed by a partnership be- tween the local authority, public housing agencies, private building companies, universities and research centres. An urban regeneration process has been set-up to become a key action in the Strategic Energy Action Plan (SEAP). Concerto AL Piano in Alessandria has motivated many of the local residents to play a part in eco-construction and energy retrofit projects. Getting citizens involved in energy projects is proving to be the key to success for a region’s effort to promote sustainable construction and energy saving systems

Thermal Performance Assessment of an Opaque Ventilated Façade in the Summer Period: Calibration of a Simulation Model through in-field Measurements

In recent years, several studies have been performed to evaluate the actual contribute of Opaque Ventilated Façades (OVF) as far as the energy efficiency of buildings in the summer period is concerned. In this framework an experimental real-scale module of an OVF was built and tested. Results demonstrated a reduction of ~58% of the thermal load obtained by using a OVF with respect to the unventilated façade configuration. In this paper the experimental measurements were used to calibrate dynamic simulations using ESP-r software, in order to identify the input factors and the key issues mainly impacting on the results discrepancy

BLOCK_PLASTER: involucro in laterizio a elevate prestazioni energetico-ambientali. BLOCK-PLASTER: High energy/environmental performance brick building envelope.

Today, technological innovation in the construction field faces an important challenge: the identification of solutions that may not only allow to maximize energy saving in the use phase, but that may also reduce environmental impact throughout the entire life cycle of materials and components. The paper illustrates a research activity and experimentation – funded by the European Union – carried out in synergy by research centres and private companies. Its end purpose was the design, prototyping, and monitoring of an eco-friendly brick envelope named BLOCK_PLASTER. Alternative configurations to the system have been identified and technological environmental performances in the different phases of the life cycle have been verified through a multidisciplinary and a multi-objective approach

LCC Analysis to evaluate the economic sustainability of technological scenarios on the district scale. - LCC Analysis per valutare la sostenibilità economica di scenari tecnologici alla scala del district

The analysis of the alternative project technologies shapes up as a crucial passage to verify the economic-environmental sustainability and thereby steer the choices of Public Administrations and private investors on investing in the retrofit of assets towards Energy-Efficient Buildings. When it comes, however, to new construction or energy retrofit interventions on existing buildings or clusters of buildings, you cannot overlook to place them territorially within a broader inftrastructural vision. In the essay, we suggest to apply the Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) approach to assess the economic sustainability of optional technological scenarios. Assuming the methodological principles of the LCCA approach, amply explored on the building scale, we try to reason on the district scale, tackling the complexity that this broader scale perspective entails. At the same time, we suggest application of the LCCA approach to a case already targeted by a previous retrofit intervention: a “post retrofit intervention” viewed within a differently mature technological and market context. We propose the simulation on a real case clarified by the “Concerto AL Piano” European project, developed as part of the “Concerto” programme, co-funded by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Energy and Transport, in the September 2007 – August 2013 period. We assume at the start the principle – emerging in the recent sector literature – that the integration between local energy production technologies (district heating by gas cogeneration, photovoltaic, solar heating energy) is preferable to project solutions aimed at maximising recourse to specific energy generation technologies, viewed separately. An integration of sources which, we hope, can simultaneously ensure a simple management and control. The potential offered by switching from the single building scale to the territorial sub-segment one in the simultaneous presence of several energy sources, highlighted by the results, certainly entails an increased degree of complexity, at the level of systems and at an evaluative level. Complexity that might lead, however, to important openings for territorial governance and the definition of policies compatible with the energy containment objectives and with the required performance requirements while being, at the same time, economically and financially sustainable

Energy Assessment of A PCM–Embedded Plaster: Embodied Energy Versus Operational Energy

Phase change materials (PCMs) are an emerging technology that can be integrated in building envelope components. PCMs are able to stabilise indoor air temperature and increase thermal energy storage especially in lightweight constructions. Within a research activity aimed at developing advanced plasters with improved thermal properties, a plaster which incorporates a microencapsulated paraffin-based PCM was developed. The paper highlights the importance of an overall analysis, facing both operational and embodied energy, since the expected decrease of the energy consumption during the operational stage difficultly counterbalances the high energy impact related to manufacturing processes

CONCERTO AL PIANO. SUSTAINABLE URBAN TRANSFORMATIONS

Concerto AL Piano, in Alessandria at the NW of Italy, is one of the 58 integrated energy demonstration sites promoted by the European Commission within the 6th and 7th Framework Programme. Concerto AL Piano is aimed at demonstrating the economic and social benefits in investing in energy saving and renewable energy in urban regeneration. The project includes a mix of interventions: the renovation of existing social housing, the construction of new eco-buildings and the provision of a cogeneration district heating, integrated in the urban environment

Development of Vegetal Based Thermal Plasters with Low Environmental Impact: Optimization Process through an Integrated Approach

The use of thermal insulating plasters represents an effective solution in energy retrofit of existing buildings. Thermal properties are usually improved through the addition on the plaster formulation of Light Weight Aggregates, as expanded polystyrene and perlite. The drawback of these thermal plasters is the higher environmental impact, especially when added to natural binders, as natural hydraulic lime. Within a research activity a process of optimization was followed in order to get the most effective blend, applying iteratively the LCA methodology, measuring the thermal conductivity and testing the environmental impact in terms of Volatile Organic Compounds and formaldehyde emission rates

Photobioreactors as a Dynamic Shading System Conceived for an Outdoor Workspace of the State Library of Queensland in Brisbane: Study of Daylighting Performances

In the field of responsive shading systems, the use of photobioreactors (PBRs) containing microalgae seems to be a promising technology. Within this framework, this paper presents a case study where a PBR was specifically conceived as a shading system for an external workspace located on an open terrace of the State Library of Queensland (SLQ) in Brisbane. The proposed shading system makes use of PBRs as translucent screening elements, capable of regulating natural light to provide adequate visual comfort for a multi-purpose workspace, despite exposure of the site to direct sunlight and fluctuating weather conditions. The microalgae (Scenedesmus Obliquus) cultivated within the shading elements contribute to improving the environment by bio-sequestrating CO2 and producing oxygen. They are also a valuable raw material containing bioactive compounds with various applications including nutraceutical products, livestock feed, and biofuel synthesis. In addition, their green pigmentation is visually engaging and allows for the filtration of solar radiation. The paper focuses on analyzing the daylight performance in the outdoor workplace under the PBR shade. The biomass density of the PBR is adjustable across a wide range of light transmittances (10%-80%) to counter the highly variable outdoor conditions. For different Tv values, illuminance values were calculated using the simulation tool DIVA-for-Rhino and then analyzed as both point-in-time illuminance in June, September and December, and through climate-based daylight metrics such as the Daylight Autonomy and the Useful Daylight Illuminance. As a further step, the daylighting performances were compared to two other climates (Turin, Italy, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates), to verify which setting of the PBR may be suitable for different boundary conditions, thus making the system more widely applicable. The results in Brisbane showed that for clear sky conditions, higher levels of biomass saturation are needed (Tv < 20%) to remain in the 300-3000 lx 'optimal' illuminance comfort range, with lower concentrations (Tv < 30%) to remain within the 300-6000 lx 'acceptable' illuminance comfort range. Differently, in overcast sky conditions, the optimal range of illuminance is easily obtained with reduced levels of biomass saturation (Tv < 80%)